Brief Chat: Wesley Korir in Eldoret

Mar 6, 2012

By Philip LatterPhotos By Philip LatterWesley Korir, runner-up at the 2011 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, is currently preparing for the NYC Half in March and the Boston Marathon this April. A native of Biribiriet, Kenya, Korir, now

29, was raised on a small shamba with no electricity or running water. After making it to the United States, Korir became an All-America runner at the University of Louisville before graduating to the marathon distance. In his debut, he placed fourth overall at the 2008 Chicago Marathon competing in the citizen’s race. From that point forward, Korir became a full-fledged marathoner, recording back-to-back wins at the Los Angeles Marathon before breaking through at Chicago last October with a 2:06:15, a PR of over two minutes.He and his wife and former college teammate Tarah have a 17-month-old daughter, Mikayla, and divide their time between Louisville, Kentucky; London, Ontario; and Chepkanga, Kenya, where they are building a new home. Korir is coached by Louisville head coach Ron Mann. In addition to his professional running career, Korir is also the founder of the Kenyan Kids Foundation, a humanitarian organization that he describes below. More details can be found here: www.kenyankidsfoundation.org.Korir was gracious enough to grant this interview while we drove down the chaotic streets of Eldoret.How much of a surprise was your performance in Chicago?Welsey Korir: Not that much. I knew I was ready to do something big. My workouts prior to Chicago were going really well. I had been getting in a lot of good work, and I knew it was about to happen. I went to the Chicago Marathon very confident, knowing that no matter what was going to happen I had enjoyed my training and was ready for anything. Since then, I’ve just been enjoying knowing that I can run like that.I’ve heard from you about the “Ron Mann Signature Workout” that gives you confidence heading into a race. Can you give me an idea of what you did going into Chicago that told you were ready to run with a guy like Moses Mosop?WK: I didn’t get to do the Ron Mann Signature Workout! It was pretty disappointing. But we did mile repeats. I averaged 4:30 pace and felt really good, really comfortable. There were a couple I went 4:20, 4:18. After that, when I went back to Canada, Coach said, “If you can’t find time to do the signature workout, I still think you’re ready.” And then I did a couple tempo runs in Canada that I was negative splitting very well. I knew I was ready for it.You seem like a person who can train anywhere: Louisville, Ontario, Kenya, even Flagstaff, Arizona. Is there any method to madness or is it just where the family goes? Do you feel like you need altitude to succeed?WK: Really, I’ve never put emphasis into altitude or the place where I’m training. My wife once told me, “It’s not about the place, it’s about the people.” I always say, “Complaining about the place you are doesn’t make it better.” Wherever I find myself, I always think about how I can make the best of this place and this opportunity that I’ve got.I always find myself in places for a reason, not on accident. Whenever I go to a place, I think about the reason and the purpose. That mentality seems to work. If I’m at altitude, I take the best of that opportunity. If I’m at sea level, I just go out there and do my best.After Chicago, you received a lot of publicity. And you spent a lot of that time talking about the work of your foundation. What’s Kenyan Kids Foundation all about?WK: It’s a foundation that we started a few years ago with the intention of empowering the poor in Kenya. There’s a lot of poor, as you’ve seen here in Kenya, and I think the best way to help them is not to give them money, but to empower them. Using my own life experience that got me out of poverty the way it did, it was through education. Because of education I was able to get outside (the country) and get a scholarship to the States. That’s one thing we focus on a lot, empowering the young kids through education.Then we’re also trying to empower the families of those kids through farming. As you know, farming is the main focus of our income earning (here in Kenya). If we can empower them to grow their own food and produce surpluses to sell, and be able to take their kids to school, that will really help those kids to be self-sufficient in the future.Our third goal as a foundation is to focus on health care. A healthy

nation is a working nation. If Kenyans can stay healthy and avoid the unnecessary expenses of going far away (to see a doctor), and being unhealthy, and not getting good treatment so that they can’t work on their farms, then I think we can really help the poor to get healthy.I was very fortunate to get to see some of your foundation at work, and as far as the health care aspect goes you’ve started to build a hospital. How will that help your hometown of Biribiriet?WK: As you saw when we were running all around Biribiriet, you’d have to go some distance to find a hospital (about an hour’s drive). That was a 22-mile loop and there was no hospital in there. We definitely will be able to help them get treatment that is good and affordable. And also a place where they can really feel loved. That’s our goal. So we partnered with Ryan Hall’s foundation. They pretty much donated all the money that’s gone to the hospital - $13,000. That got it close to finishing but we still need a little more. Less than $10,000, though.One big goal for the hospital, in my mind, is to make it a mission. A hospital where people can not only get treatment but also help. Real help. We have a lot of people that have drug addictions, we have alcoholic behaviors that are killing a lot of youth. We have HIV patients that need a lot of guidance and care. And also we are hoping the hospital will become a place where doctors from the United States or anywhere else in the world can come and do mission work. I’m just hoping to get it as big as it can get while providing good, quality healthcare for Kenyans. Around here, I tell you, you’d be lucky to get good health care.That’s kept you pretty busy in the months since Chicago, and to top it off, you and Tarah are building a home near Iten. But now that you’re officially announced as a member of the Boston Marathon elite field and have been invited to run in the NYC Half, I have to ask how those preparations are coming along.WK: Everything has been busy, crazy, but we always find time to get some work done. I think my preparations are coming along really well. I’m not in Chicago Marathon shape yet. But when I (compare) myself to two months out from Chicago – I was in Flagstaff – I can see that I’m getting there. I’ve been doing speedwork, tempos, and I think they’re coming along well. It’s just been a busy time with the foundation, and the house, and the kids going to school (through his foundation’s scholarship program). Right now we’re done – thank God – and now I can settle and focus completely on my training for Boston and the New York Half.What kind of times or race would give you confidence in New York heading into Boston?WK: I don’t think I’m going to put too much emphasis on what happens in New York. I think I’m going to put most of my energy on Boston, and whatever happens in New York, I don’t want to be disappointed. I’ll be running New York a week after coming from Kenya. I’ll be a little jet lagged still. But I’ll give my best. I always give my best in any race. I’m not going to leave any stone unturned in New York; I’m going to run the best race I can get. Then I’ll take the results and see where I am, then sit down with Coach and see how the training has been going, and what we can do better and change going into Boston.After running a 2:06:15, you set the bar very high for yourself. There’s no more looking at your time from your wins at the LA Marathon and being happy anymore. What would you consider a good day in Boston, be it time or place, now that you’re viewed as one of the big dogs in marathoning?WK: Boston’s going to be competitive, considering the people entered. I’m going to go into Boston the way I did in Chicago. I’ll just try the best I can and leave the results for God. That’s what I always try, just give my best and then after the finish line it’s all up to God because I don’t have any control over it. I try not to put too much pressure on myself by setting a time goal.No matter what I’ll be happy to be in Boston. It’s been a dream of mine. I can’t tell you how many times me and Coach talked about Boston. The first thing we talked about after Chicago was Boston! So being able to line up in Boston is just a privilege. I consider it a blessing.But as far as times go, you’re right. 2:08 doesn’t count anymore. You have to run 2:05, 2:06. Definitely in my mind, when I think about it, 2:05, 2:04 would be really welcome in my life.I’ve got to ask about your family life. You have a wife who’s trying to make a go of it as a professional runner. You have a 17-month-old daughter in Mikayla. How does that family atmosphere play into your success, and maybe your stresses?WK: The love that I get from my family helps. We work as a team. Mikayla, my wife, and me, we’re all a team. Whenever we do anything, we do it together. It’s fun to be able to get support everywhere you go. It’s nice to know that everything I do, I’m not doing it for myself, but for my family and the people in Kenya that we’re trying to help. I’m lucky to have a family that supports what I do, both running-wise and humanitarian-wise. It’s good. Definitely I’m blessed to have a wife that understands what I do.

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